Homolovi State Park and Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

November 20, 2018 by Catherine Forest in Arizona, Camping spots, Hiking

It is so incredible that the archeologists that work at the Homolovi State Park research center allow visitors to wander through the site and find artefacts (it is obviously illegal to take anything).

It is quite the feeling to find all sorts of pottery pieces created by the Hopis that are over 800 years old.

As we exclaimed at every find we did, we could picture the women who cooked in these pottery containers…

Between the 1200s to the late 1300s, there was over 1,200 rooms on this land. Standing on these grounds, you can still feel the village buzzing with life. What a privilege to be there.

Petrified wood is pretty cool the first time you see it, but a bit less exciting on the third or fourth time… We went to Petrified Forest National Park mostly to see the Painted desert, those colorful layered hills you see in the background. It’s too bad there are not longer hikes in the park. I would have loved to get lost in that unique landscape.

The next day, we went to visit the Petrified Forest National Park. This is the painted desert part. Just gorgeous.

At the bottom of Blue Hill Mesa (short hike).

I've spent many hours in nature lately, in silence, on my bike, meditating on the part of me that is afraid of not offering my girls a more normal teenage life full of activities and peers on a daily basis. What if we stick to the fact that our family culture is to live on the road, away from a busy calendar? How do I know what is best for them at this stage of their lives? I can listen to their desires (which ebb and flow and change with their hormonal cycle...) or I can simply hold the bar, as I did all those previous years and say: this is our family, this is what we do. I will make sure you get a great online education and a high school diploma while living on the road. I wonder if we have become a generation of parents who cater too much to their children's desires. If I struggle with this transition, if living in a house for 4 years, needing a second income and vehicle, yearning to be out in nature in my bus, to have more quality time with them does not feel right... is it still the right thing to do for them? I don't know. I truly don't know.
My friend @reneetougas wrote a beautiful series on her blog on homeschooling the high school years. She asks an important question:
"Perhaps in the same way that schooling parents ask homeschoolers - how do you manage to be with your kids all day? Which for me is incomprehensible to answer since my reverse question is how can you stand to not be?" I still cringe when I hear parents cheer because school is about to finally resume after spring break. I mean, I get it, being surrounded by young children all day is hard work and wanting some alone time is totally human. But I feel like we don’t know how to be together anymore. We find it intimidating. Here, take my phone. And draining. Yes, you can go on Netflix.
Why is that? Can’t we just have a good time together? Have meaningful conversations? Have we become so busy that we need to schedule fun times and laughter fits?

You know, we did not wake up one morning and saw that all the stars had aligned, that all the conditions had come together and decided not to send our girls to school. It is rather the opposite. We decided to not send them to school, then we invented the circumstances that made that possible.

A hike in Rocky Mountain National Park

October 02, 2018 by Catherine Forest in Colorado, Hiking

When we arrived at the trailhead, it was cold and rainy. Aisha grumpily got out while Mara pranced across the parking lot, oooing at the gorgeous yellow aspens. Mathilde had stayed behind with our friends and their baby. The air was thin and fresh at 9,500 feet, and it felt so good to be surrounded by tall mountains! I wanted everybody to be happy and have a good time, but it seemed like someone just needed to complain about something and I had a really hard time finding empathy… This was Rocky Mountain National Park. On a Monday. Girl!!!!

But after a few miles, nature worked its magic, the weather cleared up and we all found our groove. I'm so glad my man reminded me to just give her space, not question her or try to fix her. Just let her be.

It doesn't have to be complicated.

If only I could remember that next time (or like tomorrow…).

I'm so thankful for this stable calm man in that sea of hormones!

As you probably have noticed, I haven’t been in this space much. Now that we are back on the road, I’ll post more about the destinations we visit. I’m posting regularly on Instagram and Facebook. Here’s something I posted about there a week ago that I’ve decided to repost here:

This year, the girls are homeschooling completely online. It’s new for all of us and it was quite the ordeal to get everything up and running. We really wanted them to do the bulk of their classes in French, so they have a patchwork of classes from different provinces, but it is finally set up. Their Humanities class (a cool integrated Yukon combo of English 9 and Social Sciences 9 with lots of content on First Nations) is a virtual class where they have to be online for 1 hour, 3 times a week, with the teacher and other students. The teacher was a traveling homeschooling dad himself and mountain biked quite a bit with his daughters. As you can imagine, they quickly clicked with him. The French class (from BC) is really interesting (BC has adopted a new curriculum last year and it is great!). Their science (from Alberta) and math (from Ontario) classes are more traditional.

I’ve created a Google calendar for each girl in which their classes are well laid-out with deadlines for assignment and times of day (with alarms). On top of their core classes, they are doing a great Art 2D/3D with the Vancouver animation school and two afternoon a week, I have asked them to pick a personal project they wanted to work on. For now, Mara is writing a book, Mathilde is working on upcycled bike parts jewelry and Aïsha is sewing a storage pouch. Their bike training schedule is in the calendar too.

We also invite them to spend some time reading the news each day (American - in English, and Canadian - in French). Our goal for this year is to feed their growing minds and have discussions with them on different topics. We watch documentaries and movies on varied topics with them at night to broaden their horizons. We are very aware that these are some of the most formative years where their brains create tons of connexion. It’s the best time of life for learning!

They have daily tasks that rotate monthly and are responsible for 1 dinner a week. It might seem pretty regimented, but it is quite interesting to see them relax into that schedule. After years of relaxed homeschooling/unschooling, they have demanded a more structured learning process in the last few years and we have created it for them.

Some people will say that our girls are sheltered; they would be right in a sense. We have sheltered them from the mainstream, but not from real life. We have always believed in offering them a rich environment in which they could explore the world, themselves and their interests. And I think we are succeeding in that. Yeah, us.

Two cottages by a lake

August 16, 2018 by Catherine Forest in Quebec

Mathilde reconnected with kayaking. She loves it.

I call Christiane my step sister since my mom and her dad (who passed away almost 10 years ago) have loved each other deeply for many years. Even since Jean-Maurice's passing, we have stayed very closed and I consider Christiane and Mikaël (her brother) my family. This summer, since we were finally here for more than a few weeks, Christiane and her partner François very generously offered to rent a beautiful big cottage for all of us to spend some time together with my mom and the grandchildren. Her brother and his partner also came to spend a few days. It was 5 days away from everything, on a lake, together, with beautiful bike trails and hiking trails nearby. A very welcomed break from bus life in an hectic campground, from a busy scheduled summer that seems to be riding on an unending heat wave.

Hike to Delaney Falls in Vallée Bras-du-Nord.

We laughed hard, we talked lots, we ate well, we napped often. The girls got to connect with their sweet little boys and we all created incredible memories.

About 3 weeks later, we got to spend some time by Lac St-Jean, where Hélène's family (my dad's wife) owns a cottage on an rocky outcrop. The story goes that the man who built this cottage had the first pick of all the land around the lake and that he chose that spot. It's pretty easy to understand why. The lake is so big it's actually an interior sea with beautiful sand and clear water. It was such a joy to play in the water with my girls and see them laugh together so much. It felt like it had been a long time...

And this is what confirmed that leaving for another winter on the road was the right decision. Spending time together away from the hectic pace of a more mainstream life. You see, about a month ago, one of the girls finally dropped the bomb : I want to go to school, I want to stop traveling. I want a new experience.

Of course, we knew it would come one day. We always kept the discussion open and asked the girls every year if they wanted to try school or keep traveling. One of our key education values is to raise children that feel empowered and in charge of their own lives. We know how important these teenage years are and we are listening. But we also need to sit back and assess where we want to settle down. We want to honor our agreements for the upcoming year and want to teach our girls that big decisions need to be reflected on carefully. After 6 years of nomadism, settling down is as big a decision to us as it is for sedentary people to leave for a year on the road. You can’t just steer on a dime. We will stick to our original winter plan to travel and use that time to brainstorm on our options.

The beautiful private beach by the cottage. Perfect water and sand.

Sitting on the rocky outcrop at sunset for happy hour every night.

The girls and I loved to go sit on the warm black rocks after sunset.

We believe that our children have their own paths, their own agenda. We guide them and provide them with some tools we think will be useful, while trying to listen to their wisdom through our own fears (and vice versa). I wish for my girls to have healthy teenage years, far from selfies and that constant research for approbation… but I also know that the teenage years are there for children to separate themselves from their parents and to find their own tribe. Our girls have lots of great people around them, mentors and healthy relationships, but because of the transient nature of our lifestyle, they are always in the honeymoon phase of those relationships… Is it a bad thing? One can argue that this is not how real life is. I say: define real life.

Quebec Cups in Tremblant, Sherbrooke and St-Félicien

July 24, 2018 by Catherine Forest in Quebec, Mountain biking

The Quebec Cup in Tremblant was pretty rough. Just like in Baie St-Paul, it rained the night before the race and the course was wet in the morning.

Aisha and Mara crashed into each other during the warm-up and Aisha opted out of the race since she was in pain. Mara had a great start, but crashed on the course and collapsed after crossing the finish line, saying she wasn’t seeing straight. She w… — Aisha and Mara crashed into each other during the warm-up and Aisha opted out of the race since she was in pain. Mara had a great start, but crashed on the course and collapsed after crossing the finish line, saying she wasn’t seeing straight. She was seen and patched up by First Aid and was OK once the shock subsided.

Mara just before the finish line. You can see her bloody knee and her unwell expression.

Martin (JF's cousin) asking us jokingly if he is first or second (knowing very well he is last!).

Alex encouraging his dad Martin going uphill.

The next day was much better as it began with a soak at the Hotel pool and spa where Isa and Martin were staying, then JF and I went for a ride in the beautiful trails and we came back to the village to watch the Downhill Canada Cup.

The Quebec Cup in Sherbrooke was exactly a month later and had 2 events. There was a crazy heat wave hitting the south-East of the province and the girls raced in very high and humid temperatures. With a very good prep that included a strict hydration + electrolyte schedule more than 24 hours before the race, they all did great and did not suffer too much from the heat.

Aïsha on the first lap of the Mont Bellevue XCO Quebec Cup in Sherbrooke.

3rd place finish!!! That's a victory smile!

Chatting with teammates as they cross the finish line.

My mom, her partner and Christophe (my step-sister's son). Christophe is explaining to Aïsha how her clip pedals are just like his ski bindings.

Christiane (my step sister), François and the boys, came to the race! It was such a treat to have them there!

JF was racing on a fat bike since he is waiting on Niner to replace his cracked frame. He still managed to finish in 10th place!

Aisha and Mara at the beginning of the race (turquoise and blue helmet near the front).

Aïsha had a great race on the Sunday XCC event of the Quebec Cup in Sherbrooke, even with the crazy heat.

Mara got bronze on the two events at the Sherbrooke Quebec Cup.

The only picture I have of the St-Félicien Québec Cup (taken by Mathilde) since I had to stay back to work. Mara got 5th place on the XCO and crashed hard on the XCT the next day, but still managed to finish. Aisha had a great race both days and Mat… — The only picture I have of the St-Félicien Québec Cup (taken by Mathilde) since I had to stay back to work. Mara got 5th place on the XCO and crashed hard on the XCT the next day, but still managed to finish. Aisha had a great race both days and Mathilde did the XCT on Sunday and had a good time too!

Our summer is beating to the drum of mountain bike races. The girls could talk about mountain biking for hours, throwin in names of techniques and teammates I know nothing about, and rolling their eyes when I ask for explanations. Remember when your toddler was into dinosaurs or planes and was driving you bonkers chatting your ear off about everything he knew about it? Well, picture that, times 3, and throw in a good dose of teenager sassiness. I’m kind of glad I have taken a job at the state liquor store (SAQ) and can talk to other people about wines and spirits. It keeps me sane and pays for some of the unending list of mechanical problems that keep coming up...

Our summer is a whirlwind, probably like it should be. The bus is a mess, there are more showers in a day than there used to be in a week not so long ago and the girls are constantly hungry and complain that there is *nothing* to eat when there is literally no more room to stuff food in the bus… They are fire and water, expletives and superlatives from morning to night.

But they still ask me to clean their road rashes and give them a massage before bed. They still come and snuggle with me in the morning sometimes and tuck me into bed at night with the best hugs and I love yous.

I’m not gonna lie, these teenage years are quite the emotional ride. I’m not sure I’ve ever questioned myself as a mom as much as I do now. My years of know-it-all are far gone… I know full well that I’ll mess up and that good enough is the new perfect.

I’m not nostalgic of those little ducklings following me around like the center of their universe... Of course, I sometimes miss those chubby little hands reaching for mine to cross the street or those sparkles in their eyes when I told them a story with puppets...

From the moment you birth your kids, you are not the center of your own universe anymore. That was a pretty rough introduction to adulting for the 25 yo only child that I was. Fast forward 15 years and I think I managed OK, although not always as gracefully as I could have, like most. But when I look at those beautiful strong daughters of ours now, I’m so very proud of them, sassiness and eye rolling included!